Can fish it all day, no fail, no fatigue. Caught everything from snook, Spanish mackerel,
and some offshore dolphin... got into a school, it was the next rod up and performed admirably
live baiting 10 pounders, glad it has a reasonable braid capacity, comes in handy. Used it for
small tarpon in the keys as well and jacks off the seawall...it screams drag but does not quit. Did my best
to kill it but could not. Paired with a light weight Loomis IMX and it is like fishing with a toothpick.
Great for tossing soft plastics and spoons at reds too. Goes with me in the Hewes and the Contender

Prossmooth and strong, not always the first reel I use, but when the bite is on it has not failed, add it to
the mix and it performs like the bigger ones (so far) both inshore and offshore as well.

ConsKids love it and it is hard to keep them away from it

By Neel

Missouri City, Texas

August 12, 2017

An amazing buy for the price

This reel is about the best overall reel you can use for light inshore fishing when factoring things such as price, weight, etc. I can't emphasize on how impressed I am with Quantum for making a 10 oz reel with 25 pounds of drag. This reel is also consistently smooth with exposure to salt water. Also, for a reel with a spool size that's not too big, it sure seems to cast fairly well even when paired with smaller surf rods that fit into the ''lower quality end'' of the spectrum. Ounce for ounce, this is definitely one of higher drag to size ratio reels on the market. For nearly $200, this reel is a steal.

ProsLightweight, Powerful drag, Smooth

ConsMakes an unattractive noise when used to fish heavier baits. When trying to fish in a finesse style the high speed of the reel makes it difficult.

By Luke

,

June 26, 2016

Flawless reel

One of my favorite reels out of my collection. Extremely smooth yet extremely tough. I have used it from false albacores to 30 pound striped bass along with the St,Croix tide master . This reel can handle it all and i recomend it.

By John M

Long Beach Island NJ

April 2, 2016

nice reel,but not for the surf and jetties.

This reel is probably more suited towards the boat guys.

Prossmooth reel,great drag,nice line ratio

Consbail arm and bail wire is not robust enough for surf and jetty fishing. Probably fine for the boat.

By Vinny

Indian Rocks Beach Fl. GOM

February 5, 2016

Excellent reel catch anything

This is a fantastic reel, really top of it's class. I've used shimano, penn ssv, and now PT Smoke 30. Shimano was nice, afraid to get it exposed, but a fish catcher. Penn SSV love it, tough, but heavy as an anchor.ThebQuantum PT smoke 30 like an extension of my arm and hand. I can fish this with a Star Stella Lite all day, yes all day. I fish in-shore and beach with the Quantum PT30 Smoke, super great feel and awesome drag. I feel everything with this reel rod 8' set up. The lightest tap echos or resonates to my wrist ,then "snap" fish on. Great reel. I've caught some large drum, pogies, Crevils and shark on this reel with no problem. Way lighter then the Penn SSV,.. Seems tougher then the Shimano I did use. QUANTUM hit a home run with the PT Smoke.

ProsQuality Build. Fantastic weight distribution. Tough as an SSV. Can be used all day and not feel you need to be adjusted at the Chiropractor.
The drag is as smooth as a baby's butt. Holds off the salty water very well. It looks great for when I not catching fish, I look like I know what I'm doing.

ConsHandle set screw backed off, lost it. Quantum/ Zebco was fast at sending me the part and a note instructing me to place a drop of blue Lock Time on the threads. Great Customer Service.

By John Marsden

Oakhurst, New Jersey

October 11, 2015

Quantum SL40PTs Smoke PTi Inshore Spinning Reel

First time using this reel we got thick into blitzing False Albacore screaming runs and fish after fish the reel performed flawlessly very happy with it

ProsSmooth drag and very light

ConsNone so far

By steve alter

Center moriches, New York

July 23, 2015

Smoothest drag I have ever had on a reel

This reel is light, has good line capacity for fish like False Albacore and the drag is silky smooth.

By Viet

Portland, ME

May 19, 2015

Nice all around real

If you're looking for a good all akk around fishing reel then this is a solid option. It's light enough for fresh water but strong enough for inshore fish.

By Kevin

East Vineland New Jersey

March 7, 2015

Appropriately named cause this reel smokes the fish

This reel is just plain awesome. I have used mine for a full season now and absolutely love it. It is lightweight but built as strong as they come. Plenty of stripers reeled in on this bad boy along with many other species. I have it mounted on a Shimano Terez rod with 40 lb. Power pro braid. For the price you cannot go wrong with this reel. Would love to have a fleet of these on my boat.

ProsVery smooth. casts great and looks great.

ConsNo complaints here!!

By Cristian

Lake worth, FL

January 29, 2015

Durable

This reel is very durable and love the color on it

By David

Horsham, Pennsylvania

January 10, 2015

Very disappointed with this reel

My experience with this reel has not at all been a positive one. With less than 200 casts on this reel, an excessive amount of play had built up between the rotor and the bail arm assembly. I'm not talking about a small amount of play, either. It was so bad you could easily feel it when opening the bail. I sent the reel back to Quantum, and they replaced it under warranty. Unfortunately, the replacement reel had the exact same problem. While a bit frustrated with the reel itself, Quantum's customer service in the handling of this issue was top notch. I informed Quantum that I no longer had any interest in the Smoke line of reels, and they agreed to exchange the Smoke50 for a Cabo50, no questions asked. While the Quantum Smoke Reel only gets a 1 star rating from me, their customer service is certainly worthy of 5 stars.

ProsIt's light in weight, and that's about it.

ConsI believe this reel is in need of a re-design, particularly at the bail arm / rotor junction. I don't think the play that developed in my reel is a matter of random defect. I honestly believe it's a design flaw. I will not purchase another one of these reels, nor would I recommend them to another angler. If you're looking for a quality saltwater reel from Quantum, get a Cabo.

By McCoy

Alabama

December 22, 2014

What can I say.... I love this reel

It's smooth, stylish, and durable. At this price point, it's everything I could ask for in a reel.

By Adam

New Orleans, LA

December 8, 2014

This reel smokes the Spanish mackerel

This reel paired up with a G Loomis NRX Inshore with 5/8oz gotcha lures off the pier in Pensacola, FL = deadly! Love this reel

ProsSmooth, looks great, and casts well. I like it

ConsNone

By Chris

Collierville, TN

December 5, 2014

In Comparison to Shimano

Historically I have been a Shimano man. I have the Sustain, Stradic and Baitrunner. This is my first time going outside the Shimano brand. Overall I am very pleased. The first thing I noticed with the reel, which is my only complaint, is the smoothness. Frankly it doesn't touch Shimano in this category and is the area Quantum needs the most work in. The second thing I noticed was the build. The reel is incredible from a stout and sturdiness perspective. I have no doubts this reel is built to last. The reel, despite being built like a tank, is still very light weight. The finally thing is the reel actually holds the amount of line it claims too. Every Shimano reel I own never held the yards it claimed, the Quantum absolutely does.

ProsWell built, strong, durable
Light weight
Great line capacity

ConsNot as smooth as it should be

By Robert

Orlando, FL

November 23, 2014

my goto reel

Love this reel, it stays setup in the rod rack so I can grab it and run out the door. lightweight, casts like a dream, and braid ready you're all set to hit the back country for a day of fun. I just have to be careful when adjusting the drag, the knob comes unscrewed quick when backing down

Nice lightweight reel. It is smooth feels sturdy and is comfortable to use. I have not dunked this reel so I dont know how it reacts to salt water but I dont see it having a problem.

By james mcknight

Tampa FL

May 22, 2014

awesome

the Smoke reel is super nice.. very solid feeling and a great drag system

Prossolid, strong, lite, great drag

By Jason

27205 Harbour Vista Circle, Florida

January 10, 2014

Great Reel

Honestly, I wanted to give this reel a 4.5 but obviously I can't do that. The only reason I give it that score instead of a solid 5 is because for the price I thought the reel would be a little smoother. Having said that though, the reel is still VERY smooth so don't think that it's not, I just said "for the price..." Anyway to me what is most impressive about this reel is the sheer look of it AND the fact that it weighs less than 10 oz. with a max at above 20 lbs. I mean that is seriously impressive! On top of that I also like how the reel comes braid ready because personally for inshore and saltwater fishing in general I like to use braid as my spool line. I also like that it is a sealed bearing system which is a very helpful feature in a reel, especially when saltwater/brackish water fishing. Personally, for a $180 I feel this reel is well worth it do it's performance and it's amazing look.

ConsThe only con is that I expected it to be a little more smooth for the price but like I said, it is still a very smooth reel.

By Tony

New Zealand

December 28, 2013

Quantum Smoke 30PTs Inshore

First outing with this reel trolling from my kayak the other day revealed it has a much smoother drag than other spinning reels I've used.
Five Rainbows to 6lb and no hesitation in the drag when fish are close to the kayak. Feels nice and solid too. So far so good !

ProsSmooth drag, solid feel.

ConsNothing yet.

By Todd

Orlando

December 25, 2013

Quantum SL25PTs Smoke PTi Inshore Spinning Reel Review

I've owned the smoke for about a month now and couldn't be happier. It was exactly what I needed for lightweight stopping power on my 6' St. Croix. The reel is well balanced and the drag is very smooth. Paired with a lightweight rod, you could cast alk day. Highly recommend!

ProsTough drag
Very light

ConsNone so far

By David Pearce

New Bern North Carolina

November 8, 2013

Workhorse

This reel is light yet strong enough to handle upper class fish.

By JerseyJigger

Keyport, NJ

September 11, 2013

Light and strong!

This reel is awesome! Currently using it with a Lami TriFlex 6015 jigging bucktails for fluke. Very small and light, but with more than enough drag to handle the big fish.

Proslight weight
high drag capability
smooth retrieve

By Bob B

PA

August 29, 2013

Super Light

Heavy Duty without the weight. Got in a 6lb striper effortlessly.

ProsWeight. Cast all day

ConsKnob too small for big hands

By John

Florida key largo

March 4, 2013

Smoke inshore

This reel was great at first and had no problems until about a month later. I had 10lb super slick on the reel and got a couple wind knots which is expected but to a certain number. After the fourth wind knot I started to get concerned and a littl low on line. Then I got a fifth which brought me down to my backing and I had to respool with what I had left of the braid. The wind knots still continued until that spool was empty. Then I bought regular braid and it helped a little but the knots continued. Then after a while the reel started to squeak when using it. I am very meticulous about rinsing my reels after using them and I greased everything and put synthetic oil in every crease. Then I reeled it for 10 minutes but it never got worked out. I have several other penn reels that I've had for years and they remain in perfect condition and have never had that many wind knots. I plan on returning this and going for the daiwa ballistic who has a reputation for saltwater unlike quantum. The one star is being generous and I would never recommend this reel to anyone

ProsNothing

ConsWind knots
Squeaky

By william newton

dothan alabama

February 8, 2013

great reel

I recently purchased two sl30pt's and could not be hmore pleased. Loaded both of them with Berkley 10lb Nanofil line. Have caught numerous red fish up to 40 inches. The drag is smoth as silk.

Prossmoth, light , good looking

By Vacheron

Singapore

December 5, 2012

tough little reel

excellent option for the budget conscious, it's more than capable of handling most inshore applications, and certainly more than equal to some of the offshore needs

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